Gaming PC (First Build) Help/Suggestions

Saponutti · Nov 21, 2014

Hello,

Building my first gaming pc. Wondering if what I've built is a good value for performance.
I'll be using it for SC2, Dota2, Borderlands 2, Tera, and other similar games played at 1600x900 with as high settings as possible to get at least 60fps. I'll also be looking to stream games.
Also not sure if relevant, but my monitor is 27" 1920x1080.
I'll probably be looking to purchase things around black friday.

I had a few questions.

1) Is there a big difference b/t the Intel Core i5-4570 and Intel Core i5-4440?

2) The motherboard I've chosen was picked for it's wifi capability since I won't be next to my router/modem. Would I be better off getting a different motherboard and wireless network adapter separately?

3) Is an SSD for the OS worthwhile? Are there any benefits to installing games on an SSD vs HDD? Is an SSD something I can upgrade to in the future?

I think I want to stick with an intel cpu and nvidia gpu, but if there's a compelling reason to go otherwise, I'm open. I think all I'm missing from my build is a power supply and maybe a CPU cooler(?). Suggestions greatly appreciated. If I'm still missing things or anything else that can be added/changed for a better price/performance, let me know.
I'm pretty much in the ballpark of where I want to be in terms of price.
I feel like the parts I've chosen can achieve my goals, but not entirely sure.

I'm pretty new to all this, so I'm here to learn!
Thanks.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-Pro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($106.79 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Team Zeus Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.99 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $652.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-21 00:58 EST-0500

gilbadon · Nov 21, 2014

1: No, but you should probably get a k processor for overclocking such as the i5-4670k because you are getting a z87 motherboard. If you got a z97 motherboard (newer but almost the same) I would recommend the i5-4790k.
Note: if your budget is tight, do not get a Z87 motherboard. You do not need the overclocking feature. Get a cheaper chipset mobo such as H81. Last thing is if you want this for pure gaming go for an i3-4xxx processor with the gtx-970. The i3 will not bottleneck but a gtx 760 will.
2: Yes
3: An SSD is a great thing for any build. It is a shame to have nice parts and have all of your speed seem limited by your IO performance. It does not increase performance when the game is loaded but greatly reduces loading time. A lot of people put their most played games and OS on an SSD. Get one, you will not be sorry. 120GB is more than enough for OS and a few games/apps but I tend to get 256 for headroom and care freeness.

Saponutti · Nov 21, 2014

gilbadon :

Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't plan on overclocking, so should I stick with the i5-4440? I thought that streaming required a good processor, so I thought I should go with an i5 over an i3.
What's a good H81 mobo?
The gtx 970 is ~$300+, so I don't have the budget for it. Should I still get an i3-4xxx with a gtx 760? Could you elaborate on why the gtx 760 will bottleneck?
What determines if a part will bottleneck?

gilbadon · Nov 21, 2014

Well a processor i3 or above almost never bottlenecks. This is based off of my own experience combined with what I have seen on the internet. I gamed heavily on an i3 processor with a really nice GPU and the GPU was still my limiting factor as time progressed. If you are streaming, that may be an entirely different issue. I do not know enough about that to make a suggestion.

The following H81 mobo is a very good deal. It is cheap, yes, But if you do not plan to overclock, a more expensive board will not do you any good. This has good reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=7400646&SID=f41da9f05f6548b8a1b7bc031beba230&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16813130731&cm_sp=

That saves you about $75 for a better GPU. Go for a GTX 280 and keep the i5 you had in mind.

Darkbreeze · Nov 21, 2014

Everything looks fine if you're satisfied with the features offered by the Z87 chipset. If you don't plan to overclock AT ALL at ANY POINT in the future, I'd probably drop down to an H series motherboard and CPU which will shave some of the cost off and possibly offset the price of adding an SSD, the Z series board are mainly for overclocking although they are fine even if you don't want to overclock and the fact that they are geared for increased voltage and heat will simply allow them to be more efficient and run cooler at stock settings.

Two other things I would consider.

One, I'd seriously consider an SSD over a HDD as they are of course much faster and when the OS is installed on an SSD it speeds up pretty much everything, considerably. If you need to have the storage space now, that's fine, but you can always add a HDD for more storage later down the road otherwise.

Two, I'd change to this RAM. It's faster, at 1866Mhz rather than 1600Mhz as you have picked out, it has a CAS Latency of 8 instead of 9 and is a high quality made in the USA memory module. "Team" memory products like Zeus and Vulcan, who knows. Hong Kong? China?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $82.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-21 16:14 EST-0500

Saponutti · Nov 22, 2014

gilbadon :

I noticed the motherboard doesn't have any connectors for fans. Are the number of case fans you can have dependent on the amount of fan connectors a motherboard has?
Are you sure you mean a gtx 280? I looked it up and that's a gpu from 2008 and I'm pretty sure worse than the gtx 760.

Darkbreeze :

I've taken both of your advice and downgraded the motherboard to an H97. I've switched out the HDD for an SSD and will add an HDD sometime in the future. While I would get the faster RAM, the new mobo doesn't support 1866Mhz and I'm not entirely sure it would be worth it anyways.
I've decided on a PSU and I hope it'll meet my needs. All I'm missing is a wireless network adapter which would bring my build to ~$700.
What do you guys think?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.93 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $679.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 00:29 EST-0500

Darkbreeze · Nov 22, 2014

It absolutely supports the faster RAM. All the way up to DDR3 3000 as seen here: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H97%20Anniversary/?cat=Memory

I'd pay an extra 25 bucks for the extra speed and lower latency, any day of the week. Not to mention, in my opinion, a higher quality module.

Darkbreeze · Nov 22, 2014

That PSU will probably do the job, but it's certainly not the best Antec model around. It is made by Seasonic though but apparently the NeoEco has crossload issues although ripple and noise suppression are apparently pretty good.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=317192

I think for that price though, I'd be inclined to go with this unit that is, apparently, higher tiered and is at least semi-modular instead:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $54.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 01:21 EST-0500

Saponutti · Nov 22, 2014

Oh I didn't know that about the mobo. I was just taking it from newegg and pcpartpicker's info.
And I was thinking, if none of my parts light up, is there any reason I should be getting a case with a side window?

Darkbreeze · Nov 22, 2014

Not really, aside from the fact that it makes it easier to take a peek inside every now and then to check for dust build up and to verify that fans are moving when they should be. If you don't mind taking the side panel off every now and then, which is no big deal at all, obviously, then it's mainly just for cosmetic reasons.

What is your ACTUAL budget for this build and I'm assuming you're in the US, but please verify that.

Saponutti · Nov 22, 2014

Darkbreeze :

Okay, so I'll probably look into different cases. My desk has a space for a tower and you can only see the front of the tower, so I realized that even with a window, I won't be able to see inside my case unless I pull it out from the desk.

I wanted to spend ~$500. I'm not entirely broke though, so I gave myself some flexibility and am considering $500-700.
I'm in the US. With so much free shipping from sites, is there an advantage to buying some parts from a store?

Darkbreeze · Nov 22, 2014

I probably wouldn't go any cheaper than this, for what you want to do. The addition of the R9 280 will give you a significant performance boost in gaming over the GTX 760. I also changed the SSD to the Intel 530 series as it's more reliable. This is a pretty damn decent price for a really fair gaming and overall i5 budget rig.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 530 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $679.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 03:19 EST-0500

Saponutti · Nov 24, 2014

I've had issues with AMD in the past, so I'll have to think about that switch. Everything else is not bad.
Thanks for all the information and help!

Darkbreeze · Nov 24, 2014

If you absolutely want to stay with an Nvidia GPU, I'd really recommend going with the 970, as it's pretty damn hard to beat the combination of price and performance, but of course it much more expensive so go with the 760 if that's the more comfortable solution for you.

Honestly I haven't seen evidence one way or the other that would indicate either AMD or Nvidia based cards have a higher rate of failure or lack of performing up to par than the other.

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